Do You Keep Your Eyes Open to Opportunities?

Are you open to the experiences and opportunities around you.

This weekend, we were at Disneyland, when my son engaged a girl and her mother in front of us in conversation.  Glancing over, I realized the little girl was wearing a Cal (UC Berkeley) shirt.  My automatic response, “Go Bears” was echoed by her father, who replied, “Go Bears.”

I glanced up and realized that he looked vaguely familar.  At that point, I had two choices, I could politely smile or I could inquire farther.

What would you do?  Better yet, what do you do when an opportunity, business or otherwise presents itself in this type of situation?  Do you ask more questions or do you simply walk away without exploring the possibilities?

I tend be innately inquisitive, so I explore most of the time.  I did this time.

I asked the father, “Did you go to Cal? What year did you graduate?”  We quickly discovered that we had graduated within a year of each other.

As we talked, he began to look more and more familiar, I was pretty sure who he was, but one more question should do it.  “What’s your name?” And, when he provided it, I provided him with his last name.

He asked me mine, thinking I looked familiar, but still looked a little puzzled until I gave him my last name. At that point, my husband said his eyes lit with recognition.  (Very few people called me by my first name in college and many thought my last name was actually my first).

The result, I am back in touch with an old friend, have his card, and we’ll be getting in touch in the next few days.

 So, what do you do with the little and big opportunities that life hands to you?